Common Misconceptions and Improvement Strategies of LOTO

Common Misconceptions and Improvement Strategies of LOTO

(1) Common Misconceptions
Only attaching tags but not locking, believing that the warning labels are sufficient for protection, neglecting the importance of physical isolation, resulting in the failure of isolation.
Not identifying all dangerous energy sources, omitting residual energy release steps, such as not discharging capacitors or not emptying the medium in pipelines, leaving safety hazards.
When multiple people are working, sharing one lock, leading to unclear responsibilities and easy omissions during unlocking, causing safety accidents.
After the operation is completed, not verifying the equipment status as required and directly restoring operation, which may lead to accidents due to equipment failures or incomplete isolation of energy.
(2) Improvement Strategies
Strengthen training and education, clearly stating the principle of “Do not attach tags in places where locks are required”, standardize operational behavior.
Develop a list for identifying energy sources of equipment, conduct a thorough check against the list before the operation, ensure no omissions, and standardize the residual energy release process.
Implement a personal dedicated lock system, use a collective lock box for multiple people working, and all personnel need to unlock before the equipment can be restored to operation.
Strictly follow the verification steps for isolation effectiveness, check the equipment status again after the operation is completed, and confirm there are no errors before restoring energy supply.
Lockout tagout is widely used in industries such as mechanical manufacturing, chemical engineering, power, construction, and logistics, especially in scenarios such as equipment maintenance, repair, commissioning, and cleaning. With the development of technology, some enterprises have introduced intelligent lockout tagout systems, such as electronic locks and intelligent tags, to achieve real-time monitoring of lock status, remote authorization for unlocking, and other functions, improving management efficiency and safety.
In conclusion, lockout tagout is a key link in industrial safety management. Enterprises need to attach importance to the construction of the system, the standardization of processes, and personnel training, and integrate it into daily safety management to truly safeguard the lives of workers.